Fair Trade

KEY PRINCIPLES OF FAIR TRADE

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PRODUCERS

Fair Trade is a strategy for poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Its purpose is to create opportunities for producers who have been economically disadvantaged or marginalized by the conventional trading system.

BUILDING A THRIVING & SUSTAINABLE NEW ECONOMIC MODEL FOR TRADE IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD

For UKUSH, Fair Trade also means living wages & conditions to the employees and owners of businesses in the first world.Â Our hope is to help create an alternative to the "winner take all" world of free trade agreements, global capitalism and neoliberalism.

Fair Trade is a means to develop producersâ€™ independence. Fair Trade relationships provide continuity, during which producers and their marketing organizations can improve their management skills and their access to new markets.

PAYMENT OF A FAIR PRICE

A fair price in the regional or local context is one that has been agreed through dialogue and participation. It covers not only the costs of production but enables production which is socially just and environmentally sound. It provides fair pay to the producers and takes into account the principle of equal pay for equal work by women and men. Fair Traders ensure prompt payment to their partners and, whenever possible, help producers with access to pre-harvest or pre-production financing.

GENDER EQUITY

Fair Trade means that womenâ€™s work is properly valued and rewarded. Women are always paid for their contribution to the production process and are empowered in their organizations.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Fair Trade means a safe and healthy working environment for producers. The participation of children (if any) does not adversely affect their well-being, security, educational requirements and need for play and conforms to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the law and norms in the local context.